Lament
by Dancing Darkness
Summary: Under a burning sky two men sat side by side and wondered how could it have all come to this? How had the war gone so very wrong? A quick one shot about the war on Gallifrey!


Hey guys, I wrote this after I watched the Halo 3 ODST live action trailer for the first time in ages. It just inspired me! The song lyrics are translations from the song in the trailer called 'Lament' by Light of Aidan (**h t**  
**t p : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v = G 5 4 Q O 1 9 l E j A & f e a t u r e = r e l a t e d** - if you want to listen to the version I used).

Anyway hope you like it!

Enjoy!

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_And my army of brothers went over the hilltops._

_Drenched in blood we may be_

_but fighting is all left to me._

_Together with my army of brothers,_

_down we fall,_

_darkness in all,_

_through hell. _

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**Lament**

Hell raged outside the doors. Fire and ash ripped open the sky and rained death down upon the land. Smoke chocked them and turned the sky dark, as if night time had come to early. The ground lay like a burned out husk, ruined by the fighting and humbled by the sadness that flowed in its wake. It was a planet on the edge of destruction.

In the shattered glass shell of the formerly resplendent city two figures sat together beneath the grumbling form of a guard tower. Weapons lay in the dust beside them and their armour was scorched and worn. Their eyes were sightless as they gazed tiredly to the heavens – the gaze of those that had lost their souls to war.

The man on the left sighed, "the birds should be migrating," he commented quietly, eyes still searching the clouds.

His companion looked at him and wiped some dirt from his cheek, "don't think there's many left," he replied, also squinting up, "must have died in the first incursion."

The other grunted, nodding and looked down at his hands folded in his lap. "I miss tea," he continued, mind wandering as far as his eyes.

"Tea?" his companion stated incredulously, looking at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, why not?" the other protested, holing his hands up. "Don't you think a cup of tea would go down great about now?"

The man laughed suddenly, wheezily. "Yeah," he agreed with a smile, "it'd be just grand." He shifted to get more comfortable, stirring the dust and causing the other to cough.

They were silent for a long time. The other placed a hand on his gun, looking at it with an unreadable expression. "Do you think it will ever end?" he asked suddenly, turning to look at his companion.

"What?" his companion replied confused at the abrupt question.

The other sighed in exasperation. "Do you think the war will ever end?" he elaborated, pulling the gun onto his lap with a dull clunk.

His companion looked away thoughtfully, staring at the carnage around them. The street should be full of people, men and women and children going about their serene lives. It was like a ghost town. The only sounds were their words and the whispers of the wind though the empty streets.

"I don't know," he said finally, looking back to the other with an expression of contemplation. "It's early days," he mused, scratching at his hair, "we haven't thrown all we could at them, I guess, so we could still win. But the same could be said in reverse. I hear they're recruiting allies."

The other snorted non-committally and nodded. "Things just keep getting worse."

"Who'd have thought we'd end up here?" his companion asked suddenly, turning grey eyes to the sky bitterly and running a hand through short hair. "Who'd have thought they'd every let me live again? They dragged me out of the pits of hell to fit for this forsaken hunk of rock!"

The other was quiet, "Do you remember when I used to skip the martial lessons at the academy? Didn't want to do look at the old battle simulations..."

"Ever the pacifist," he grunted in reply with a short laugh, it was the laugh of one resigned to death.

"How things have changed, huh?" the other muttered, glaring at the dirt between his legs. "I'm too tired for this. I just want to go home."

The other laughed whole heartedly, "We are home," he chortled mirthlessly.

There was another lengthy silence. "I'm being reassigned," his companion said suddenly, not looking at him deliberately.

The other looked round in mild shock, "really?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving the planet, got a nice little tour lined up," he laughed wryly. He was silent for a moment, "I wish we could go back to the old times."

The other looked to the city and imagined it in its former splendour, a marvel and shining star of knowledge and civilisation. He sighed, "me too. Everything was so simply then."

His companion nodded, "you were just a geek with too much time on his hands."

He laughed, "yeah, and you were just a pain in the ass. Wait, that has changed has it?"

His companion elbowed him playfully. They sat quiet and companionable once more.

Footsteps shattered the eerie silence and both turned to see a soldier picking his way through the rubble and debris. He was clearly young and fresh to the field, a tad too formal in his manner. He saluted them and the other waved his hand quickly, he hated being saluted.

"Command is requesting to see you, General," he said to the other politely, "they are going over plans for a new battle stratagem."

The other nodded and stood, dusting himself off. "Where can I find them?" he asked briskly.

"Grand hall, sir," the recruit responded promptly.

"Very well. Dismissed." The man looked relieved and quickly vanished.

"All work and no play," his companion grunted, also moving to stand.

"Tell me about it," the other complained, rolling his eyes. He turned to walk away but paused, "where are you being reassigned?" he asked over his shoulder.

"The Cruciform," the companion replied swiftly, beginning to walk away.

The other nodded, "stay safe, Koschei," he called.

"You too, Theta," was the murmur from the retreating figure. The murmur was full of hoplessness. He sighed as he watched him leave. He looked back to the beautiful sky that now seemed so barren. He didn't see his friend again for a very long time.

----

The Doctor sat bolt up-right in his bed sweating, he didn't sleep often but when he did he didn't usually dream so vividly. Why that conversation? Why that event? He'd let a lot of emotions go when he regenerated so why was he still dreaming about them?

He yawned and ran a hand over his sweaty face. He swung his legs to the floor and placed his head in his hands. If he closed his eyes he could still hear the whir of propulsion engines, the clatter of gunfire, the shatter of extrapolator shielding...He could still see the fire and feel the burn of fire on his back. He could feel the despair, the rage and the pain. So far away and yet so close.

Killing infects and never goes away. He would carry it like a canker in his soul for the rest of his life. He craned his neck back and stared at the ceiling. He smiled.

He found he still didn't like people saluting him.

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_We cheat Death from his rightful victory. _

_No one can defeat us. _

_We are glad to plunge feet first into Annwn _

_in the knowledge that we will rise._

_----_

So? What did you think? Please review and boost my ego!

Love!

- D_  
_


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